


The Mothman Project

by sunflower_J



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cryptids, Established Adashi, High School AU, Laith, M/M, Memes, Mothman, Oblivious Lance (Voltron), PINING KEITH, Pining Keith (Voltron), Plot, Shadam, Social Media, Youtube AU, adashi, beauty guru au, cryptid AU, cryptid hunter au, keith is sorta famous, klance, lance wears makeup, oblivious lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2019-10-26 03:25:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17738093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflower_J/pseuds/sunflower_J
Summary: Hewwo this fic is unfinished because I think it’s pretty silly and the premise didn’t work out but if you want you can. Read it I guess :)On Pidge's thermal sensors, there was a strange humanoid blob moving slowly in their direction. Keith excitedly leaned forward, whispering into the camera, "Is that them?"The shape clambered into the area.Holy quiznak.It was Mothman.*freeze frame, record scratch*Hi. I'm Keith Kogane, and you're probably wondering how I got into this situation.Well, it's a long story.Let me start at the beginning.• • •(Cryptid hunter AU!!)





	1. It all started in the fall of 2019... *music kicks in*

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!!! I've been working on this for a while and I really like it!! I hope you like it too :)

* * *

Pidge itched her collar and set down the thermal sensor. She glanced at Keith, then to the star-studded sky.  
"Hey, Pidge, get over here." He called, beckoning her to the camouflage tent he was currently in.  
She crawled in and pulled down the viewing flap.  
"Do you really think he'll come?" Hunk whispered. Keith nodded, adjusting the lens on his camera.  
"How do we know Mothman's a dude? I call bull-"

_SNAP._

  
The crew collectively held their breath, and Lance leaned instinctively towards Hunk.  
Keith waited about five seconds until the blood rushing through his ears slowed down a little, until he could hear the chirping of crickets again.

  
"Okay, false alarm." Hunk breathed.  
Lance flopped to the ground dramatically, resting on a pillow he had brought. (bright blue, of course)  
"This is so crazy. I can't believe I'm doing this with you again. We're gonna get shot by some batty park ranger Trump supporter or something." He ranted. "Is Mothman sentient? If he- sorry, Pidge- _they_ are, wouldn't filming them without permission be, like, illegal, or something? Wait, that only applies if the person is under eighteen. Is Mothman a legal adult, Keith? Maybe it wouldn't apply since Mothman is, you know, not human."  
Keith felt dizzy. Lance was a blabbermouth when he was nervous, which could both be amusing, and kind of cute.  
"Sapient." He replied.  
Lance blinked. "Huh?"  
"Uhm, 'sapient' would be the right term, because being sentient just means that something is aware of it's own existence. And Mothman is at _least_ fifty-two by now. Unless they had offspring, which in that case-"  
"SHH!!" Pidge hissed. "Keith, get your camera ready! I'm picking something up on my thermal sensor!!"  
Keith fumbled with the thing and pointed it at the viewing flap.

On Pidge's thermal sensors, there was a strange humanoid blob moving slowly in their direction. Keith excitedly leaned forward, whispering into the camera, " _Is that them?"_  
The shape clambered into the area.  
Holy _quiznak._  
It was Mothman.

***freeze frame, record scratch***

Hi. I'm Keith Kogane, and you're probably wondering how I got into this situation.  
Well, it's a long story.  
Let me start at the beginning.

  
• • •

  
It all started on a clear September day, already way too cold for t-shirts and shorts, much to basically the entire population of West Virginia's horror.  
Keith was currently curled up in his blankets, shivering.

"I would sell my _soul_ for a heater, Shiro." Keith chattered, pulling the quilt tighter.

Shiro scoffed. "You're being dramatic, Keith. You're only cold because you just took a shower."  
"Lies, Takashi. The boy is right. Take some money out of your coffee fund so we don't all turn into icicles by the time Christmas rolls around." Adam smirked, slinging his arm around Keith.  
Shiro rolled his eyes. "Keith, finish your breakfast or we'll be late."  
"Ah, he changes the subject. Sneaky." Adam chuckled, leaning over to kiss Shiro on the cheek.  
Keith morosely began shoveling hash browns and Eggos into his mouth.

  
What a way to start the day.

  
• • •

  
Keith was wandering on the outskirts of the school grounds, filming the trees.  
"I swear, in second period, I saw something... _moving_ out here. It was really weird." He informed the camera.  
His YouTube channel had recently began gaining traction, for whatever reason. (he could not figure out the algorithm for the life of him)  
Being a semi-popular YouTuber wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Most of the time, Keith found himself stressing about his upload schedule, and his comments usually ranged from telling him he was an idiot for believing in cryptids, telling him he was hot, or, his personal favorite, comments that simply read 'gay'.

Yeah, that tended to happen a lot, for whatever reason.  
As is the life of a social media "star".

Suddenly, Keith sensed movement again. He froze, and clamped his mouth shut.  
"Oh." He breathed.  
It was a deer. A stag, actually, with his large, majestic horns tangled with branches.  
And then he was gone, retreating into the woods.  
"Well, I guess that explains it. Can't say I'm disappointed, though. It's better than nothing." Keith whispered, swiveling the camera to face himself and then turning it off.

"Hey nerd! What's up?"

Keith smiled, swiveling around to face the short girl. "Hey, Pidge. I just saw a stag! He was massive!"  
Pidge nodded approvingly, and began to fool around with her phone as they walked back to the school building.

She had gotten her nickname from her brother, Matt, and it had been something she hated. Eventually, though, it grew on them all, and now hardly anyone called her Katie anymore, not even her parents.  
Pidge was basically his only friend. He remembered when they first met, when Matt had invited him and Shiro both over to watch _Shrek_ _2_ or something ridiculous like that, and there she was, shyly curled up on the couch, playing Minecraft and pointedly avoiding eye contact with Keith.

  
Keith was a bit of a loner- he was just as shy as she was, but eventually, they became unsteady friends. She had let him play Minecraft, and he had accidentally killed a wolf, because, like the absolute noob he was, was trying to tame it with steak, but ended up hitting it (with the steak) and drowning it instead.  
Yeah.  
But then she came out of her shell, and burst out laughing.  
Now, Keith couldn't imagine life without her.  
Pidge was also an absolute genius. She was three years younger than him, and was in the same classes as him. Apparently, it ran in the family, as her dad worked at N.A.S.A, her brother was majoring in theoretical physics, and her mom worked as a full-time data analyst.  
Heck, At this point, Keith wouldn't be surprised if their _dog_ programmed computers in her free time.

  
"What are we filming today? You got another crazy idea?" Pidge asked.  
Keith shrugged awkwardly, shifting his backpack off his shoulder to place his camera inside.  
"It's the full moon tonight, so it'll be a good time to look for Mothman."  
Pidge snorted. "Is Mothman like that meme moth? You know the one?  
Keith grimaced. "Actually, he could be."  
She gave him a _look_.

"Well- moths aren't _attracted_ to light, they're _confused_ by light." He explained wearily. "But the moon is the reason moths are affected by light. So if anything should provoke Mothman, it's a full moon."  
Pidge groaned. "Why can't we search for aliens? Or ghosts? Those are more interesting."  
Keith bristled. "Mothman is interesting. Besides, ghosts aren't visible, and the criteria for being an alien is literally to _not be from earth_ , Pidge."

  
She shrugged.

  
"By the way, have you noticed your new meme?"  
"Huh?"  
"You know, the gay meme." She said, shoving her phone in Keith's face.  
He was met with a view of a Tumblr page. The search box read _holy cannoli his abs._

He grabbed the device and clicked on the top picture.  
It was an old meme, the 'distracted boyfriend' meme, and featured Mothman photoshopped onto the red dress woman, his own face on the man's, and the blue dress woman overlain with text reading 'a heterosexual lifestyle'.  
Keith snorted. "What, this is a meme? Me being gay for Mothman?"  
She snatched the phone back.  
"Yeah, that one was based on your meme. Hold on, lemmie find it. Here, it's become a _really_ big thing now." She said handing it to him.

  
Keith blinked. It was a screenshot from his video, _The History of Mothman_ , and showed him saying "Holy cannoli, his abs!" a moment when he was showing the famous metal statue of Mothman, that, did indeed, have abs.  
"And it's basically become a meme for whenever someone does anything gay. Here, look..." She explained, pointing to the surrounding images.  
The next image was the same screenshot, but with an anime character's head on Keith's, and another anime character photoshopped onto the superimposed picture of the statue of Mothman.  
The caption read 'Ikuko at Anzu in the beach episode".  
Keith raised his eyebrows, as he scrolled down, with all the latter memes in a similar format.

"Well." He murmured. "Is this why people keep commenting 'gay' on my videos?"  
Pidge let out a peal of laughter. "Maybe, or maybe the entire internet just has really good gaydar."  
Keith sighed and handed Pidge his phone back. "Great, now I'm gonna be known as the guy who's in the cannoli abs meme, instead of the cool cryptid hunter guy."  
Pidge snickered and Keith glared at her. "I'm cool!"  
She muttered something about how you don't have to _say_ you're cool of you _are_ cool, but Keith decidedly ignored her.

  
The weather had prompted Keith to bundle up, and only a few brave souls were still in summer clothes. He saw a girl in a tank top and briefly feared for his life.  
They walk inside. Pidge cursed when her glasses fogged up, and furiously scrubbed at them.  
Keith heard laughter, warm and loud, in a way that should've been obnoxious, but really wasn't.  
His eyes gravitated toward the source: Lance Charles McClain, laughing at something a girl said.  
He looked beautiful; despite the shortening days, his light brown skin was still dotted with freckles, and his eyes were scrunched shut, nose adorably wrinkled.  
Keith felt his stomach fill with butterflies. He dragged his eyes away, and his face flooded with warmth.  
In that moment, Keith couldn't help but imagine his predicament in the context of the meme, and thought to himself:  
_Holy cannoli, his abs_.

  
• • •

  
Keith stilled. He could feel his heart beating way faster than it surely should have- he had mentally prepared his entire life (basically) to meet something supernatural... Yet, here he was.  
And ow, there was a branch jabbing his side.

 _Crack_.

Holy crap, it was Mothman, wasn't it?!  
Maybe.

Hopefully.

Keith squatted lower, camera at the ready.

A shadowy figure burst out of the trees with such suddenness that Keith jerked backwards (ow again) and dropped the camera.

" _Keith_ ," Pidge hissed, "Stop freaking out."  
Keith could feel her glare, though it was not visible in the darkness of the night.  
"It's just some drunk guy."  
Keith slowly drew himself out of the bush, creeping towards the boy, who looked oddly familiar.

He gasped, staring down at Lance McClain, who was probably unconscious. A camera lay in his open palm, and his eyes were closed.

"Is that Lance? As in, 'got chained to a tree by a girl who then immediately stole his car' and 'flirted with Jamie Granger whilst it was pride month, while somehow not realizing she was wearing a lesbian flag t-shirt' Lance?" Pidge asked, her amber eyes large beneath her giant lenses.

And then another guy withdrew from the darkness of the wood, scaring the crap out of Keith.

"Oh my God, Keith? From shop class? What are you doing here?" Said the boy, who was Hunk, Keith realized. (Whether that was his actual name or not, he didn't know.)

"I might ask you the same question. Your friend just fell out of a tree." Pidge quipped.

" _You_ are currently sitting in a bush, Katie."

"...Fair enough."

"Um, we were looking for creatures. Ghosts, vampires, uh, Mothman..." Keith mumbled awkwardly, his eyes glued to his shoes. "Also, is he okay?" He gestured at his crush, who appeared to be in ragdoll mode.  
Hunk grabbed the boy's arm, checking for a pulse.

  
"He's fine. I told him, ' _Lance, I think those branches are too thin. Lance, you're going too high. Lance, you're going to fall._ ' But does he listen? Nooo, he thinks he's indestructible, and that his young bones are worth losing to some aesthetic Instagram picture." The larger boy ranted, attempting to rouse his friend.

Lance's eyelids fluttered open. He blinked, sat up, and rubbed his head.  
"What... happened?"  
At the sound of his voice, Keith suddenly felt like he was going to throw up, which tended to happen whenever he got in Lance's general proximity.  
"Dude, you fell out of the tree. I told you this would happen! Are you ok?"  
Lance gaped at him for a second before scrambling to check his camera. "Am I ok?! Hunk!! Oh my god, if it's broken, mama is going to kill me, sweet baby Jesus......" He sputtered, squinting at the lens and franticly turning it on.

Pidge crawled out of the bush, causing Lance to jump out of his skin, as he had just  
then realized that Keith and Pidge were there.  
"Uh... hello?" He greeted, a confused expression on his face.  
Keith blurted the first dumb thing that entered his head, which was:  
"Who are you?"  
Shoot.  
Pidge shot him a questioning glance.  
"Who am _I_? Uh, the name's _Lance_?" He said incredulously.  
Why the heck did he say that?  
Keith suddenly could not speak without fear of his voice cracking out of nerves.  
Lance took this as an inability to place him, and his left eyebrow began to travel farther up his forehead.

"We're in a ton of the same classes at Jefferson?"  
Keith gave him a small, pained smile. "Oh. Yeah, I- um, I know you. You're on the swim team, right?" He squeaks, glad that it was too dark to make out the color of his face.  
"Yeah... what are you guys doing here?" Lance asked, rolling to his feet, glancing from Keith to Pidge suspiciously.  
"Cryptid hunting." Pidge stated bluntly.  
Lance snorted. He looked at their expressions and his smirk dropped. "Wait, for real? Like, Bigfoot and shiz?" Pidge noddded, gesturing with Keith's camera, which she must have picked up when he had dropped it to continue filming. "Yeah, totally. I, for one, am not really convinced of Bigfoot's- or Mothman's existence, but we went ghost hunting last week... so it's his turn." She explained, swiveling the camera to capture Lance's confusion. "We have a YouTube channel, and stuff."  
Lance's face lit up.  
"Really? You guys big?" He grinned, winking at the camera.

  
Keith shifted uncomfortably, and glanced at the night sky. "Um, I guess? How do you define 'big'?"  
Lance shrugged.  
"He's the guy in the cannoli abs meme." Pidge deadpanned.  
Hunk stumbled over a tree root in surprise, and Lance let out an exaggerated gasp.  
"NO WAY!!! Hunky bear, give me your flashlight."  
He then proceeded to shine the flashlight directly into Keith's eyes.

  
"Hey!" He sputtered, recoiling.

  
"Sorry!! Oh my god, it _is_ him!! This is amazing!" He laughed. Hunk placed a hand on Lance's shoulder.  
"Are you gonna keep this footage for your channel?" He asked gently.  
Lance's eyes bugged out. "Yeah, are you?"  
Pidge nodded enthusiastically, and Keith shook his head. They stared at each other.  
"No." Keith hissed.  
Pidge rolled her eyes. "It'll be funny, come on! The people will love it- uh, as long as you guys are ok with it, obviously." She said, glancing at the two other boys.  
"Yeah!! I've always wanted to be on YouTube somehow." Lance grinned. Hunk made a noise of agreement.  
Keith groaned internally.  
He was gonna have to edit this mess.

  
• • •

Full Moon Mothman Search  
_keiththevampire_   20,342 views  
 +8.5k        -67

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Comments • 389

_Add a public comment..._

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Pinned by keiththevampire

 **keiththevampire**  
so anyway I want my money back

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

 _Dansleftpinkie_  
holy cannoli his abs!  
_Butterfly X_  
holy cannoli his abs!  
_Zinnia-Edits_  
Holy cannoli his abs  
_julie martinez_  
H o l y c a n n o l I h I s a b s !  
_Hatchet Games_  
holy canned water his abs!  
_Freesh avacadoo_  
Holy cannoli his abs!  
**SHOW MORE REPLIES**  
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_ts_ _trash_  
This is so surreal.... I feel like when I wake up in the morning this video will have never existed...  
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————  
_ultimate_ _shadow_  
Me @ Lance: oh no he's hottt  
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————  
_move, I'm gay_  
5:36 omg is that a ghost??? I see something moving......  
_Take me on_  
+move, I'm gay ur right!! I see it to  
_Gator Knight_  
+Take me on *too  
**SHOW MORE REPLIES**  
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_Deku is my son_  
When Lance fell from the tree I legit almost had a heart attack sjshwjjss  
_Jade Dragon_  
Ikr??? Like... Tag ur jump scares, keith >:(  
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_Kamal Singh_  
Gay  
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_Bts_ _is my life_  
Lance and hunk seem rlly funny! I hope they appear in future vids lol  
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————  
_Kathleen West_  
I don't know why this was in my recommended but I ain't mad  
**SHOW MORE COMMENTS**

  
• • •

  
"See? I told you the people would like it." Pidge said smugly, taking a swig of sparkling water like a drunken sailor.  
Keith eyed her warily. "I guess." He responded, continuing to scroll.

  
All he could think about was his embarrassing crush, and how he was going to have to regularly _talk_ to Lance now.

"Come on, admit it was a good idea. Quality content!" She grinned.  
"Fine. I, Keith Yorak Kogane, admit that this _may_ have been a good idea."  
Pidge choked. "Your middle name is Yorak??!" She gaped. "Why am I just now learning this?? How is that even spelled?"

  
"My mom must have really hated me." Keith said dryly, with a slight curve to his lips. "First she gives me that middle name, than abandons me as a baby. A cruel, cruel woman."

  
• • •

  
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_Pidge Gunderson_                                                                                                                                       **+FOLLOW**  
@aliensarerealfightme  
ok so Keith just told me his middle name is yorak??? I don't even think he was joking what timeline are we living in

 _RETWEETS  LIKES_  
  **479**         **809**  
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_Pidge Gunderson_                                                                                                                                       **+FOLLOW**  
@aliensarerealfightme  
HE JUST FRICKN STONE FACED INFORMED ME THAT HIS DAD'S NAME WAS 'TEXAS'....... WHADEIWUWI

 _RETWEETS_    _LIKES_  
  **246**           **344**  
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• • •

  
"Hey!! Mullet!!"  
Keith snapped his head up, and watched as Lance approached the table.  
"Uh, hi?" He squeaked. Lance rolls his eyes and sat across from him. "You have got to let me and Hunk appear on your channel again!! I think we would make a good addition, right?"  
Keith froze. On one hand, it would be an excuse to see Lance again. On the other hand, he would most likely embarrass himself.  
"Uhm, I- well, maybe? I'll ask Pidge." He decided, forcing himself to look into Lance's eyes.  
Blue eyes.  
Almost the color of the ocean, actually-  
"I mean, I've kinda been preparing to make my own channel."

"Really? About what?" He asked. Lance hesitated for a moment, worry flitting across his face. "Well, uh- self care and makeup! I really like working with my face as a canvas."

Keith thought Lance was completely, unfairly too good at making himself look pretty.  
He was wearing lipstick today, a black blue. His eyelashes, which were already _stupidly_ long, were coated in mascara.  
And he was wearing the only kind of makeup that had ever come in come in contact with Keith's skin- eyeliner.  
(2007 emo phase. Yes, he had an emo phase. Shut up.)  
But Lance's eyeliner wasn't generously applied all around- it was winged, and creepily symmetrical.  
Keith felt a horrible heat blossom across his face.  
Whatever.  
"Uh... yeah, that would make sense. You're..." - _Really pretty and have great skin and always smell like jasmine-_ "Good at, um, makeup. Stuff."  
Lance gasped. "Oh my god, thank you!!!"  
It was at that moment that Pidge chose to sit down and rescue his heart from exploding.  
"What's up losers?" She quipped, brandishing Keith's camera.  
"Pidge, hi. Why do you have my camera? Actually, how do you have my camera??"  
She shrugged. "It was in your bag. Which you left in my house."  
She hoisted Keith's Star Wars backpack onto the table.

"Also, I read his diary-"

"What?! Gimmie that." He snapped, grabbing it from her hands.

"And ate his peanut butter cookies-" She mumbled.

"Pidge! You little thief!!"

"It said ' _for Pidge'_ on the Tupperware!"

"That's not the point, you- you gremlin-"  
Lance _laughed_ , bright and happy, like bells ringing. The sound of it made Keith stop and stare. The warmth of it filled his lungs with honey, and he found himself melting.  
Pidge snorted a little.  
Keith glared at her.  
"Anyway, Lance, would you be okay with being in some more videos? I'm filming this as kind of a vlog-ish type thing." She proposed, swiveling the camera to face Lance.  
"Actually, I just came over here to ask Keith if I could be in some more videos!!" He shot Keith a blinding smile.

  
_Christ_.

Eventually, they began to eat their lunch. Hunk sat with them as well, and Keith watched in awe as he pulled some sort of delicious looking lasagna out of his bag. "Smells good." Keith remarked, and gestured at his meal.

Hunk blinked. "Huh? Oh! This. Thanks! I made it myself." He nodded. Lance threw his arm around Hunk's shoulders. "Hunk here is a master chief to rival Gordon Ramsey. In addition to being a robot building genius, of course." He proclaimed, patting the boy's chest.

  
Hunk fluttered his eyelashes dramatically. "Oh, stop it." He swooned, waving his hand.  
Keith felt an ugly pang of jealousy- _(stupid, stupid stupid, they're best friends, you have no right anyway-)_  
Keith sighed quietly, shaking the constrictive feeling off of his chest, and looked down at his own lunch.  
Adam tried his best, he really did. Today he had a peanut-butter sandwich and apple slices covered in cinnamon. He took a sip from his Thermos and winced. Shiro had given him one of his gross protein shakes, as the health nut he was.  
Pidge was ingesting more peanut butter cookies (where did she even get them?? She had eaten all of Keith's) while reviewing the camera footage.  
Keith sighed.  
He pulled out his phone and opened Twitter.

  
• • • 

  
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_Keith the vampire_                                                                                                                                        **+FOLLOW**  
@keithkmcrfreak  
New vlog coming up. Featuring @loverb0ylance and @spacetaco12, as well as Pidge being her true self- a thief.

 _RETWEETS  LIKES_  
**99          1,004**  
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• • •

  
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_Lancypants_                                                                                                                                               **+FOLLOW**  
@loverb0ylance  
First video is out!!! ----> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ

 _RETWEETS  LIKES_  
**34           12**  
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• • •

  
( _As seen from the view of a front-facing, horizontal phone, that is more or less of an acceptable quality. This is a transcript is from Lance McClain's first YouTube video, "Hi!")_

 _Lance_ : All right!!! It's razzle dazzle time!! [ _He winks and gives the camera finger-guns_ ] I guess um- [ _he chuckles_ ] I'll start with and introduction!! My name's Lance, and uh, this is my first video. I've kind of been planning this for years, but- but I never got around to it.  
Until I ran into some crazy people in the dead of night- link to that video in the description. Wow, that sounds so official. I'm a real YouTuber now!  
_[he laughs again]_  
I'm not going to be running around in the dead of night for my content- _[he pauses]_ um, at least I don't think I will! [ _the camera clips to Lance's face looking worried, than cuts back to the wide shot]_  
Yeah, um, I'm gonna do a lot of stuff? Like, a lot of self-care and makeup, probably. Oh, and maybe art? Yes.  
I'm pretty nervous about this, uh- well, I don't know how often I'll be able to upload. Because I'm in school. Uh, I'm fifteen, so. Yeah.  
_[The camera now cuts to his hoodie string, which is hanging over to the back side of his shoulder. White comic sans text is overlain, reading: "fix ur hoodie string nerd" and then, in succession; "this bothered me the ENTIRE time editing smh"]_  
I also like theatre, like acting and singing! So maybe I can incorporate that!  
Ok, how am a gonna end this?  
_[The recording speeds up, showing Lance thinking for a while. Wii music plays in the background]_  
Bye, I guess?  
[ _A track of people clapping plays. The camera once again cuts to Lance smiling triumphantly. The video ends.]_

  
• • •

  
Keith has watched Lance's video at least ten times, and is beginning to spiral into the realm of creeper territory.  
On the subject of Lance, Keith was now going over every single interaction he had ever had with him, and regretting every single one.  
Keith thought of warm brown skin and blue, blue eyes. He couldn't believe his stupid luck- to get a stupid crush on a stupidly beautiful boy- one who would certainly never like him back.  
No, he thought, it wasn't stupid dumb luck. Anyone who met Lance would agree with him. Would be enamored by the boy, taken by his smile.  
Keith thought of the first time he saw Lance.

  
• • •

  
_Keith was sitting on a tree branch eating a Pop Tart, writing the script for his first-ever YouTube video.  
It was a windy, overcast day. Humidity hung in the air and clung to Keith's clothes.  
A drop of water fell to his notebook.  
Keith looked up. Rain began to fall from the sky, so he hopped down and made a beeline for the roofed walkway.  
He stopped there to catch his breath for a moment, watching the other kids run to shelter._

_Except for one tall boy wearing a bright yellow t-shirt, standing in the field._

_Curiously, Keith walked along the walkway to see what the boy what doing. The rain pelted down harder, making little plunk-plunking noises onto the metal above.  
The boy in the field twirled. Once, twice. His head was held up to the sky, eyes closed. He looked to be out of a painting; a work of art._

_Yellow shirt boy smiled at the clouds above, grinning breathlessly._

_Keith's face flared, and he startled out of his amazement. Briefly, he wondered why he felt so hot._

_Oh._

_Oh, no._

• • •

  
Then, of course, with Lance's loud nature, and his lovely personality, he had become one of Keith's favorite people, too.  
Keith had never actually _spoken_ to him then- no, he couldn't without becoming tongue-tied- but the way he brightened up the room he was in like- like _sunshine_ \- dazzled Keith. Like way he made Hunk feel less anxious about group projects just by changing the subject to Lego robots. Or how he squealed about k-pop bands, and Harry Potter, and Spider-man.  
Or about how his hair curled in the rain, on that day.

Keith promptly threw his phone across his bed and shoved his burning face into his hands.

It was getting late, and Keith needed to get some night driving in so he could earn his driver's license.  
He walked down to the living room where Shiro and Adam were watching a low-budget sci-fi series. Adam, the Star Trek and Asimov fan, scoffed at every turn.

  
"I mean, it's just so _unrealistic_. They never foreshadowed this- this _balmera convergence_. Why does Pat know what Vonerva is doing instantly?! She's from Earth!"

  
Shiro chuckled, and lay his head on Adam's shoulder.

  
"It's bad writing." Shiro said, referencing the meme.  
"Hey, Adam. If you hate that show so much, why do you still watch it?" Keith asked, moving to grab his flip-flops.  
Adam blinked. "Keith, I'm emotionally invested in the characters. There's no going back for me."  
Keith rolled his eyes.

  
"Are you going somewhere, kiddo? It's getting pretty late." Shiro asked, raising his eyebrows.  
"Night driving. I need you to come with me." Keith commanded, pulling the car keys out of Adam's purse. Shiro looked pained. "Adam, honey, can you take Keith out? I have a headache."  
Keith gave him a questioning look.  
Adam simply nodded. He paused the show, and followed Keith out the door.

  
• • •

Vlog #25- Meet Lance and Hunk!  
_kvlogs_        40,236 views  
+5.9k        -6  
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Pinned by kvlogs  
**kvlogs**  
She ruined my dream journal!!  
_Pidge Gunderson_  
I did NOT. Mr. Electric, send him to the principal's office and have him expelled!!  
_Shady Binc_ h  
I can't believe you have a diary..... I would pay good money to see the contents of that lol  
_jaded archetype_  
Oh so you do know what memes are  
**SHOW MORE REPLIES**

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_Chicken wings_  
bless Pidge...... we love a iconic gremlin!  
_Kathleen West_  
She's my hero  
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_LÄMP_  
Wait is this the holy cannoli his abs guy  
_Tarzan_  
Yes he is!! Go check out his main channel keiththevampire. It's a bit of a trip, but it's a good trip.  
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————  
_Shaggy the ultimate God_  
WOW Lance is so pretty... I'm dead!  
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_L. Robot_  
JESUS MY HEART..... Lance's makeup is so good... I'm cryin in the club rn....  
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 _Holy cannoli his abs_  
I want friends like this.... :'(

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_Yu Lee_

....Hunk... Is an angel...  
_Lancelot_  
Yes he is! I love hunk he's a sweetie <3  
**SHOW MORE REPLIES**  
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_Gen zed_  
6:50 Keith giving Lance heart eyes.... Fellas, is it gay to be gay...  
_Hatchet Games_  
WOAH does Keith is gay?  
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_QUEST_.  
Look at lance. Nobody can be that iconic and be straight—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————  
**SHOW MORE COMMENTS**

  
• • •

  
( _As seen from the view of a front-facing, horizontal phone, that is more or less of an acceptable quality. This is a transcript is from Lance McClain's YouTube video, "Sun Inspired Makeup Tutorial!!" Lance is wearing a yellow crop-top hoodie)_

 _Lance:_ All right!!! It's razzle dazzle time!! [ _He winks and gives the camera finger- guns_ ] Today I wanted to do a makeup tutorial... Inspired about the sun!  
All right, Lance. They've seen the video title. They know what's up. [ _He laughs_ ] I'm sure you know the sun is a lovely lady with great curves. Get it? Because the sun is a- [ _He giggles_ ] because the sun is a sphere? Ok, that was dumb. Anyway, the sun is a snatched QUEEN!  
_[He imitates flipping long hair over his shoulder]_  So, I want to do her justice!!  
First, I'm gonna use this Too Faced Peach Perfect Matte Foundation in the shade... "Sand".  
All right, so I'm blending with a beauty blender... don't forget to blend down the neck!

I'm gonna put concealer under my eyes, and on my nose. This is, uh, the Tarte Shapetape in the shade "Medium Sand".  
See, the thing about these foundations with full-coverage is that they cover up my freckles... My mami said my freckles are cute!! I think so too.  
I'm going in with the Too Faced Born This Way Super Coverage Concealer in "Honey" to contour my face. It's a bit dark, so we're just gonna put the smallest amount on my forehead, under my chin, and on my cheekbones.  
And we're blending.... [ _Singing_ ] Blending, blendinnng... Keep on blending...  
Ok, now I'm going to put some powder on with a fluffy brush.  
Now a quick spritz of setting spray...  
I'm gonna use the Anastasia brow definer in the shade "Dark Brown" to clean up my eyebrows...  
And then I can move on to the eyeshadow! First I prime my eyelids for optimal performance. For color, I'm gonna be using the Colourpop Yes Please! Pallete.  
_[The rest of the video consists of Lance working on a red-orange eye look, with suns on his upper cheeks, which he paints on using face-paint and bedazzles with glitter.]_

  
• • •

Sun Inspired Makeup Tutorial!!

 _Lancelot_   9,468 views

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**Lancelot**  
So exited to make more vids soon!! there's a possibility of a collab with Keith and Pidge in the near future...  
_Jude Dwaine_  
Woah!! I can't wait   
_HH3_  
STEP ON ME DADDY  
_jam toes_  
YASS  
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_Natalie Yamato_  
This video turned me straight  
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 _Shrimpy b._  
he's like a younger James Charles... He can even sing....  
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_Fae girl_  
Holy cannoli his abs  
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_Garbageperson3000_  
this video drove to my house, broke into my room, and punched my in the face to remind me of my gayness  
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_Lt. Z_  
guess who has a crush!! This crusty binch!  
_Jack Martin_  
Me!!! Seriously did y'all HEAR his giggle at 11:22... GOD  
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_Sally S._  
he's so pretty I'm in love  
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_Quarantine_  
I'm gonna cry why is this 15 year old baby boy ten million times more attractive than me  
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**SHOW MORE COMMENTS**

  
• • •

  
Keith put down his phone and made a strained choking noise.  
Adam looked up from the kitchen breakfast bar. "Something up, Keith?"  
Keith didn't reply, instead sliding down his chair, and gripping the hand-rests so hard his knuckles turned white. 

 

 

 

 


	2. Explanation yeet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SO BASICALLY..... I didn’t finish this because the premise was too silly. I was gonna make Shiro be mothman. Surprise. I don’t have it on this iPad but when I get home from vacation I’ll post all that I wrote for y’all just to see where the HECK I was going with this. I’m not the biggest fan of vld anymore and will probably post a MHA fic! Which I’m exited about. Anyway yeah.

**hey buddies so here's what I wrote until I realized holy crap this is a crack fic which was not my intention. Also I am too lazy to format this**

 

  
Keith watched as Lance checked his face for the fiftieth time in the viewfinder.

"You look fine, Lance. Let's start already." He said.  
Lance scoffed, and placed his hands on his hips. "I am OFFENDED, Keith. I'm sorry if we can't all look like Shane from Camp Rock when we wake up in the morning." He sniffed.

Keith frowned.

Lance turned on the camera with a large smile.  
"All right! It's razzle-dazzle time!!" Lance shot his camera a finger gun.  
"Today, me, Keith, Pidge, and Hunk are going cryptid hunting.... But there's a twist!! I'm going to have to do my makeup... WHILE cryptid hunting. I'm doing this in the dark, and we're filming with a night vision camera. So, I'm going to hand it off to my BFF, the wonderful angel, Hunk."  
He gave it to Hunk, and showed the camera his bag, an over-the-shoulder monstrosity with multiple brushes strapped to it, and other makeup utensils hanging from every clip. On his wrist there was a magnetic bracelet with a platette mixer stuck to it.

"I'm going to try my ABSOLUTE best to do a makeup look while running around in the woods at night, but..." He giggled. "You know. Oh! I'm going to do a sort of- um, electric- no, neon, green look. It's not gonna be that complicated, cuz I've only got two neon colors, and as anyone knows, you can't mix regular colors with neon. That just doesn't work."

Lance chattered to the camera excitedly, voice barely over a whisper as they romped through the woods.  
Pidge stopped. "I'm going to turn on the EMF meter. If there are any ghosts nearby, this should pick up what they say." She said, fiddling with the dials.

Keith filmed her doing so. His camera was not a night-vision camera, but he had brought a flashlight.  
A crackling noise filled the area. Static.

Nothing.

"If there are any spirits here tonight...." Lance started. Pidge looked at him expectantly.  
"Tell me.... Does this sound like Shakira? LeLeLoLe-" Pidge cut him off with a glare. Hunk chuckled.

The device let out a loud, pig-like squeal.

Everyone stared at Lance.  
"HOLY COW!! What was that?!" Hunk hissed, hunching down.

"I bet it liked my singing." Lance whispered.

"SHHHHH."

They waited for a beat. Again, nothing.  
Lance shrugged, and brought out his foundation. "I'm going to lay down a base first. So, foundation, concealer, contour, and eyelid primer." He said to the camera.

  
Hunk filmed him carefully rummaging through his bag. "I made sure to arrange these in an order I could remember. I think this is the foundation..."  
Lance somehow began building up his makeup look while they wandered around looking for footprints and ectoplasm.

Then, Keith saw the silhouette of a person, about fifteen feet away.

He froze. Pidge ran into him, and Lance trailed off talking about his James Charles X Morphe brushes.  
Keith shone his flashlight up a little, holding his camera shakily in front of him like a shield.  
The person turned around.

  
He was a tall man in his forties. He was white, and ginger. He was also holding a shovel.

  
Keith was terrified. There was a gut instinct pulling at him, telling him to run.  
The man looked at Keith, then at his camera.

  
Then walked quickly toward the crew.  
Keith's heart leapt in his throat.

"Run!" Lance screamed.

Keith ran. His camera bounced against his chest wildly. "STAY TOGETHER! STATISTICALLY, WE HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF SURVIVAL IF WE DO!" Pidge yelled.

  
Lance grabbed his hand and hooked his arm around Hunk's. Keith marveled for a second, that the threat of death still didn't deter his stomach from erupting into butterflies when Lance touched him.

  
He felt Pidge grab his other hand. They formed a line so they could run around trees better.  
The man started yelling something, but Keith was so high on adrenaline that he couldn't hear what he was saying.

  
I bet he's burying a body. Now that we're witnesses, he's going to kill us so we don't turn him in. Keith thought hysterically.  
Keith had never run so fast in his life. The man continued shouting.

"WAIT! I'M A PARK RANGER!! SLOW DOWN! I'M NOT GOING TO HURT YOU!!"

Oh.

The crew slowed down. Just in case, Keith pulled his mother's knife out of his shoe.

  
Lance looked at him with wide eyes.

  
The man approached, shovel long abandoned. He wheezed, placing his hands on his knees.  
"WOO! You- pant- guys- pant- are pretty fast, huh?"

  
Hunk rubbed his neck sheepishly.  
"Well, we did think you were trying to kill us." Pidge shrugged.

  
The man's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Kill you? Yikes."

  
Keith lowered his knife.  
"Young chap, is this... eh... brush yours? You dropped it." He asked, handing it to Lance.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks."

There was a pause as the man caught his breath. Keith put his knife back in his boot. Hunk raised his camera, as did Keith.

"So, what are you kids doing in our lovely Blue Ridge Reserve? It's a tad... late."

He had a odd accent that Keith couldn't quite place.

"We're ghost hunting." Pidge explained.

"Ah! Members of the occult, perhaps?" The man guessed, twirling his mustache.

"No, we have a YouTube channel that focuses on cryptids and the supernatural."  
Keith said, eyeing the man wearily.

"YouTube? My niece likes that website."

Hunk nodded shakily.  
"Oh! How rude of me! I've forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Coran Herrenious Wimbleton Smythe. And you lads- and lass, I see- are?"

They said their names.

Coran nodded, and placed his hands on his hips. "Well, I'm sorry for giving you kids a scare!" He apologized.

"It's okay. Um, what are you doing out this late?" Hunk asked, nervously fiddling with his hands.  
"Leveling out the path! There's this one spot that people trip on often."

Keith almost gave himself a face-palm. Lance laughed. "I thought you were burying a body, or something. I guess we're all just paranoid." He shot Keith a humored smile.  
Keith ripped his eyes to the ground.

And remembered his camera was still on.  
"This is gonna make a great video." Pidge grinned.  
Keith felt nauseous.

• • •

I almost died!!!! *not clickbait* *ok it kinda is*  
keiththevampire 1M views  
+21,985 -56  
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keiththevampire  
Watch Lance's video here!: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6n3pFFPSlW4  
Katgat  
Tag!! Your!!! Jumpscares!!  
J. J. Bittenbinder  
Hey Keith idk if you've noticed but ur blowing up.  
Opios  
Dude I keep seeing your vids on my recommended!  
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Justin Y.  
Coran is like a vodka aunt.... Vodka uncle.  
SelkieMajestic  
Woah Justin Y?? I can't believe you're here.  
JamieandBeatrice  
Omg  
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When will you learn  
I think I'm in love with hunk  
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The Sour Hour  
I have synthesia and the sound of Keith's voice makes me taste coffee.  
Lando  
+The Sour Hour woah  
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the Claire Witch Project  
Hey! Youre videos are so fun. I make cryptid hunting videos too, and I was hoping you could check them out?  
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Fandom trash  
Is Keith single? *eyes emoji*  
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Crabby Pattie  
I was SCREAMING I can't believe this happened. Also Coran looks like Nigel thornberry  
Pidge Gunderson  
You're right but you shouldn't say it  
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SHOW MORE COMMENTS

• • •

Following the most complicated online recipe I can find! Ft. Lancelot  
spacetaco 4K views  
+346 -0  
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Pinned by spacetaco  
spacetaco  
Go check out Lance!!!! He's amazing and I <3 him!  
Anna Kat  
This is the most wholesome video ever  
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Bandanaknight  
is it weird that I ship them lol  
Kathleen Harris  
i do to Their so cute  
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Wendy's fries  
Hunk is a beautiful boy!!!! This vid is so calming  
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P. L.  
"This looks terrible" beech that looks like something Gordon Ramsey would be jealous of shut up  
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Trucker K.  
HOW did you achieve this what the frick  
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PoppleXBowser  
is it sad that I literally cried when hunk brought out his cat? I think I need help  
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SHOW MORE COMMENTS

• • •

Keith turned on his camera and gave Hunk a shy smile. The boy seemed intimidating due to his size, but as soon as one got to know him for more than a minute, you would realize the truth: Hunk is the gentlest of the gentle giants.  
He had a calming aura, that of a cozy tea shop or a warm kitchen; and he smelled of fresh bread.

"Um, hi, everyone. So... this is my second Q & A, this time with special guest star Hunk! Uh, spacetaco, for those who are familiar with his brand-new YouTube channel. That video made me SO hungry, by the way. I hope you're happy." Keith started.

Hunk chuckled.  
"Yeah. Hi people of the Internet!!! Hi mom!" The boy enthused, waving his large hands at the camera.

Keith did a double take.  
"Wait, is your mom gonna watch this video?" Keith asked. Hunk smiled. "Yeah! She promised to watch every single one."

"Hi, Hunk's mom." Keith grimaced. He picked up his phone and brought up his screenshots. "First question; Is your real name Hunk?"

Hunk giggled. "Yes! It's on my birth certificate. My parents are both from Samoa, so when they had me, they didn't know much English, and had only recently emigrated to America. They wanted a name that meant a big, strong man, but I don't think they picked the best word."

Keith raised his eyebrows. "I dunno, I kinda like it. And it'll be helpful if you ever join a biker gang."

Hunk snorted.

Hunk read the next one. "R u gay?" He said, in a valley girl accent. Keith stared at the camera with the most Done (tm) face he could muster.  
"Oh! Here's a good one; Hunk, what is your favorite food to eat? And what is you favorite food to make?"

He paused, mulling it over.  
"Taco pie, for eating. That's very on brand. And as for making? Definitely cinnamon buns. It makes the kitchen smell so good..." He answered.

"Cinnamon buns. Just like you."

Hunk gasped. "Aww!"  
He read the next question.  
"What is the weirdest situation you've ever been in?" Hunk said.  
Keith only had to think for a second.

"Once, in middle school, I was SURE that this kid was a vampire. He was the palest kid I've ever seen. Typical vampire look. He had slicked-back hair and the darkest, soulless eyes. He was allergic to garlic. Once, he ate pizza from the school cafeteria that had garlic in it and he had to go to the hospital to get his stomach pumped!  
Some rich kid tried to shake his hand once and he recoiled. Later, I realized that kid was wearing a silver ring! Like, come on!

Oh yeah, and he hated our Christian chemistry teacher, who like, always wore a cross.  
Anyway, one day after school I saw him sneaking into the woods. I kept seeing him do that every day after school. So I'm all 'Oh, crap, he's going into the woods and killing animals to eat. Crap, I gotta film this, holy moly.'  
So I did. I snuck out as soon as I got home so Shiro wouldn't notice my absence, because he did not know about my cryptid hunting hobby back then. Also, I was eleven.

I biked to the woods and went down the trail, right? And I see the trail is lined with rocks. Then after like, fifteen minutes, I came across this creepy as shiz pentagram in a clearing. Just, a giant star in a circle.  
I was pumped, because I thought this was more proof. Yeah, vampires worship Satan, right? Sure.  
Then I hear this ominous chant and I scramble behind a tree. I was so uncomfortable cuz I jumped into a bush.  
There's like, a couple people painted white, like their faces were actually covered with white paint.  
The kid is with them, and I realize, oh no, these aren't vampires. This is a cult. I, an eleven-year-old, have stumbled across a cult.  
It was lovely, really. They all had knives and preformed some sort of weird ritual involving blood. I wasn't really looking though. I was too scared to move. I didn't move from my spot the entire night, and just fell asleep in the bush.  
I wake up, run, and when I get home, there were police cars everywhere. Shiro had called the cops when he had noticed me missing. Man, was that hard to explain."

Hunk stared at him.

"Keith, what the-"  
"Hey, it happened! You can ask Shiro!"

"So anyway, my turn, Jesus Christ, Keith..."  
• • •

Q & A w/ Hunk! (spacetaco)  
keiththevampire 1M views  
+20k -7  
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Add a public comment...  
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Pinned by keiththevampire  
keiththevampire  
A lot of people like to say hunk is like Gordon Ramsey. I resent that. Hunk is the Marie Kondo of cooking.  
SHOW REPLIES  
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xanthim  
Keith never said yes or no to being gay :)))  
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pumpkin kid  
I think I'm going to pass out Keith did WHAT when he was eleven???  
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move, I'm gay  
I'm confused is shiro his brother or dad?  
Jackson High Patrol  
His older adopted brother.  
Grace W.  
It's complicated lol  
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England is my country  
So we're just gonna ignore the fact that Hunk has been in a McDonalds with Nikki Minaj?  
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beetjuice3000  
And I feel heith in this chilis tonight  
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Call me bob  
Why is this in my recommended? I'm not mad, just,,,,. Confused  
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SallyJackson  
Wow your nuts as an eleven yer old  
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• • •

Keith and the crew were sitting in the school library, whispering about their next cryptid venture.

"Ok, you can go Saturday night, Hunk?" Keith asked.

  
"Yeah, but I'd have to sneak out. My moms don't like it when I'm out late." He responded.

  
Lance snickered and leaned over the table. "It sounds like we're rebellious clubbing kids, but we're just weirdos who wanna film ourselves freaking out in the woods at night."

  
Pidge shrugged, lifting her face from a book larger than Keith's thigh.  
"Hey, where the Funderson goes, there's automatically a party." She quipped.

Everyone went quiet.

She glared. "Get it? Fun crossed with Gunderson?"

"Who's Gunderson?" Keith asked, obviously confused. Lance was trying very hard not to get them kicked out of the library by laughing too loud.  
Hunk sighed. "One time, we asked her if her nickname had a last name. Apparently, it's Pidge Gunderson."

Keith looked even more confused. "Why Pidge Gunderson?"

Pidge smirked. "Because I gave a pidgon a gun. Son."

Lance laid his head down on the table and quietly giggled as loud as one could possibly quietly giggle. Keith blinked. "I'm... what... ok."

Hunk snorted.

Keith stood, "I gotta go pick up some books. Bye, guys."  
The crew waved and continued giggling among themselves. Keith found himself smiling. Without trying to! That was new.

He walked to the history section and began shuffling through. He looked up, and a poster caught his eye.

**OCTOBER FORMAL! Bring your spooky sweetheart to this Halloween themed dance held in the gymnasium! You and your "boo" will have a great time dancing, playing games, and eating treats! Tickets start at 13$. Oct 14, 5:00. If you want to be on the setup crew, talk to Ms. Ryner.**

It was cheesy. It was stupid. But he immediately thought of Lance. Keith rolled his eyes at himself and pulled out the books he needed.

  
He stood up, turned around, and yelped.

  
Lance reached out to steady him with a grin. "Didn't mean to scare you. I was hoping to catch you before you left."

  
Keith's mind was elsewhere, mostly focused on the point of contact of where Lance's hands had been on his shoulders.  
They were in a narrow space between two bookcases. The rest of the library seemed muffled and far away. Behind Keith, there was a wall.  
They were in a extremely enclosed space. Keith imagined for a moment, that Lance would gently push him against the wall, and smile, and lean forwards-

  
"-eith? I um, you looked zoned out for a second there." Lance half-whispered. Keith's legs felt suddenly as if they were made of jelly. He looked into Lance's ridiculously blue eyes. They were really, really close.

"Sorry. What did you want to say?" Keith breathed. What if Lance wanted to ask him to the dance? What if Lance had noticed that Keith always turned to liquid around him? What if-

"I just wanted to thank you for, uh, kind of helping me with my internet presence? I mean, without you I'd still be waiting for the right moment to start my channel. Uh, I guess you were the right moment." Lance giggled at that, and Keith suddenly understood the part in The Grinch when his heart grows three sizes in a day.

"Yeah. No- no problem. I- yeah. I gotta go. Bye, Lance!" He stuttered, rushing out of the nook, face burning. As he slid past Lance, (for the way was very narrow) their chests brushed. He managed an apology, and looked up at Lance before leaving.

Lance was blushing.

Keith felt ridiculous.

• • •

So, that's how I got where I am now. Wow Keith! I bet you're saying. Let me guess, you didn't really find mothman! You just used this backstory to add suspense and now it's like, someone's dog or something!

Well.

Mothman stood there, frozen. Their eyes were huge and bug-like. Disappointingly, Mothman was NOT jacked to heaven, but instead covered in a thick layer of fur.

"Holy mackerel." Hunk squeaked.

"Mothman? Hi?" Keith whispered. Mothman looked at them for a beat longer, than flew away faster than Keith could blink.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL-" Pidge started, wiping her glasses. "DON'T JUST STAND THERE, LET'S GO CAPTURE THEM!"

Keith scrambled to his feet and ran into the night. He squinted in the darkness and wove around trees.  
The crew searched for and hour, but did not find anything. They were left dumbfounded and frazzled.

Did they really see Mothman that night?

• • •

As it turns out, yes. Yes they did.  
Keith reviewed the footage multiple times, and each was the same- both in his camera and Pidge's night-vision one.

He was editing the video when Shiro knocked on his door.

"Come in." Keith said, pulling his earbuds out.

Shiro walked in. He looked a bit sheepish. "Hey, kid." Keith gave him a questioning glance.  
"Listen, I need to tell you something really serious." He started.

Keith felt a knot of anxiety on his stomach. Shiro looked conflicted.  
"What? Are we moving again?" He whispered, shifting the computer off his lap.

Shiro shook his head. "It's something I should have been honest about with you a long time ago. I..." He explained, looking more and more anxious by the moment.

"I'm Mothman."

Keith blinked.

He grinned, but his face fell when Shiro's expression did not change. "Wait, really?"  
"Yes. I saw you guys doing your cryptid hunting thing last night and realized I had better tell the truth."

Keith stared at him, hard. "Wait. Does Adam know? How often does it happen? Were you born a Mothman? Do other cryptids exist? Is the-"

Shiro chuckled, the weight slipping from his shoulders. "I don't even know why I was worried. Yes, Adam knows. It happens near full moons near eleven o' clock. I was not born a Mothman. I was abducted by aliens when I was in college, and they, uh. Experimented on me. And I don't think other cryptids exist."

Keith gaped.

"YOU WERE- ALIENS EXIST?? HOW COME YOU TOLD ADAM AND NOT ME-"  
Shiro cut him off again. "Listen, I know it's super weird.... And totally incomprehensible, but it's the truth. I am Mothman, and I didn't tell you, because- okay, how would _you_ tell a high school kid obsessed with cryptids that you're literally Mothman?"

Keith cradled his head in his hands.  
What?

• • •

Keith told the others.

It went.... Well. Pidge said she couldn't believe that Shiro ACTUALLY was Mothman or that he had gotten abducted without evidence. Lance looked pale, and Hunk just lay down on the floor for a minute.

They were at Lance's house. All conversation had ceased when Keith had revealed the truth.

"Um, I have never been more confused about life until now. I'm just... Gonna have to process this." Lance said. "How are you two not fazed?"

Pidge snorted. "He's spent his entire life believing in cryptids, so I guess this isn't a stretch for him. And I accept anything, given evidence." She said, pushing up her glasses.

Lance made a face. He took a deep breath and fiddled with his fingers. "Hey, Keith? Can I talk to you in private?"

Keith's stomach flipped. He wants to discuss the fact that your brother is literally Mothman. Calm down, he thought.

Hunk gave him a wink, which Keith thought was unnecessary. Lance led him into the hallway.

"Listen, I know this sounds a bit crazy, and I know everything seems a little crazy now that we know cryptids exist, but- would you be my date for the October Formal?"

Keith stared.

Lance stared back, much more nervously.

Keith opened his mouth, and then closed it again. And then turned bright red.  
"Oh." He whispered.

Lance's flushed. "I mean, you're probably not interested even in the slightest, and you probably hate dances anyway and- uh, yeah, I'll just shut up now."

"Yes." Keith blurted. He felt horrible, terrible butterflies. Could you die from butterflies? This was ridiculous.

Lance grinned, and blushed deeper. "Really? Wow! Um, cool. Yeah, see you- see you then. Well I mean, I'll see you before then, 'cause we have school, but- ok, I need to stop talking. Yeah." He then leaned forwards to kiss Keith's cheek.

So, it's not possible to die from butterflies, because if it was Keith would have dropped dead right then. Dead as a doornail. The deadest of deads. Obliterated.

They emptied the hall. Pidge raised her eyebrows. Keith glared.

• • •  
Keith was tired.

Well, maybe staying up late so you could run around in the woods, then finding out that aliens exist, and THEN having your crush ask you out was a bit of an energy sucker.

Wow, aliens exist. Actual aliens, and they turned his brother into Mothman.  
Wow, Lance... Asked him out.  
He honestly didn't know what he expected the least.

 

AND THATS IT. I highly doubt I'll ever pick this up again unless someone REALLY wants to see them go to the dance. My plan was for them to go and it to be raining and for Keith to get social anxiety and so Lance would then like.... Take him into the rain and then they would discover like frogs and stuff and get ridiculously muddy and then Kiss In The Rain but not like a Hollywood Kiss In The Rain more like a really akward sweet like "bro.... Ur eyes look especially purple in the evenings..... Bro you look so cute with mud on ur cheek bro! Bro." Kiss

 

wow that was word vomit skskksksks if u want me to finish this mess pls hmu I'm literally a motionless leaf until one of you gusts of wind sweeps me into the air :)

**Author's Note:**

> And there we are!! I don't know when I'm gonna finish the next chapter, but I know I will eventually. Also, that wolf thing that Keith did in minecraft? Yeah, that was something I did my first time playing a survival game asfgjkhjlj  
> 


End file.
